Forbidden
by Spartanica
Summary: Sakura is having a hard time without Sasuke. Her training and personality are suffering and she is confused and lost. But what will happen when he starts visiting her in the dead of night? SasukeSakura
1. Chapter 1

Author: So apparently you all liked the oneshot I did so I thought I'd give an actual story a try. Let me know if you want me to continue it. This is going to be similar to the oneshot, but more plottyesque. And it will go on longer. So you'll know if she's actually pregnant.

Sakura had never moved so quickly. Even Tsunade had to admit the pink-haired girl had improved drastically over the past few years. But lately, her personality had changed. She had become obsessed with finding Sasuke. Every lead, every chance she got, she was leaving with a four man team, or by herself, trying to find him. But she never succeeded.

It was destroying her. But no matter how many times Tsunade confronted her, Sakura insisted she was fine. There was an art festival coming up, and almost everyone was competing somehow. Naruto, of course, was simply showing off his ninja skills opposite Konohomaru, and Sai had decided to show some of his drawings.

But Sakura didn't want to do anything. Tsunade pointed out that if she didn't, it would make her, as the Hokage, look bad. But still, Sakura refused.

Now, she sat at the top of the gate, legs dangling over the edge. Her face was impassive as she hugged her knees to her chest, staring out over the trees. "Sasuke-kun…" She murmured quietly, feeling a burning in her throat. "Where are you?"

"Hey, Sakura." The voice behind her caught her entirely off guard. How could she have let her guard down? She whirled around to see Sai approaching, then sitting down next to her. He wouldn't attack her, but he could have been an enemy.

"Hello, Sai." She replied, turning back towards the trees, trying to appear uncaring. Apparently she failed.

"Are you ok?" Sai's voice was, as always, flat, and when she looked at him, she saw the fake smile he had perfected apparent on his face. It was annoying.

"I'm fine." Sakura said sharply.

Sai reached out and touched Sakura's shoulder lightly. "No you aren't. You aren't doing anything in the festival. You used to love doing that."

Sakura remained silent. Sai had been trying to be more friendly lately, not using name suffixes or anything like that. But at the moment she didn't want to get close to him. Still, his friendliness was a bit comforting. "I know. I just can't think of anything this year." She muttered. It was a feeble excuse.

Sai nodded and pulled a bag from his other side. "I actually had an idea for that." He removed a length of silk from the bag. It was a lovely shade of red, with silk threads embroidered in it's surface. He stood and Sakura stood with him, taking the silk as he offered it to her.

Holding the kimono, Sakura was speechless. "Where did you get this?" She asked. She had seen silk kimono before, but this one was exquisite.

Sai just shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You said you wanted to do something different, so how about this?" He asked.

Sakura blinked. "What, wear a kimono?"

Sai laughed. "No, a fan dance."

"I don't know anything about that."

"I could teach you." Sai said without thinking.

Sakura looked at him. "Really? You wouldn't mind?" She asked.

"Not at all. I'm in need of a project." He smiled again. Excited, Sakura shifted. "I left the rest of it back at home, do you want to try it on?"

Sakura nodded and started down from the gate. Sai blinked. Tsunade had been right. Once she had something to distract her, she forgot about Sasuke and was herself again. He followed after her and caught up after a few moments.

Sakura had never put on a kimono before, and the length of the obi was too much for her to handle on her own, so once she had the undergown on, Sai had to help her. Sakura didn't consider that it might be awkward for him until he was tucking in the final sash, his hand brushing her waist. "It fits." Sai murmured. The flowing design of a vine wove it's way up her leg, subtly changing from red to the lightest pink at her throat. The obi was a deep red, and Sai handed her two fans made of cherry wood and the paper was a very pale pink. Traditional japanese trees dyed crimson were set across their surface.

Sakura opened the fans and wove one experimentally through the air. Sai grasped her elbow and gently guided her arm. He walked around to her front, positioning her arms in the starting position of most dances. "There," He said, releasing her. Sakura looked up at him. She had never noticed how much he looked like Sasuke. Without warning, she pressed her lips lightly against his.

Sai's eyes widened in surprise and he pulled away. "Sakura-san…" He said, looking awkward. "I…"

Sakura winced and backed away. "God, I'm sorry, Sai…" She said. "I don't know what came over me." She shook her head. "Can we just forget that ever happened?" She sat down on his couch, folding the fans shut carefully and setting them on her lap.

"Yeah." Sai said, sitting opposite her. The silence stretched and Sai spoke after a few moments. "You really miss him, don't you?"

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." Sakura said quietly.

"Oh come on, Sakura." Sai sounded irritated. "We all know you loved Sasuke."

Sakura felt tears in her eyes. She looked away from Sai. He touched her shoulder lightly and she felt the tears sliding down her face. He hugged her softly. "It's going to be ok, Sakura." She turned and rested her forehead in his shoulder.

"What if he's been killed? He's just wasting his life for revenge…It's eating him alive…" Sakura choked the words out between sobs. Sai held her closer.

"Come on, Sakura. We'll find him. You know we will." He said, sounding so determined that Sakura almost believed him. Sai stood. "Come on, it's time for you to start learning." He offered his hand to her and she took it, standing up. "That's a good Shinobi." Sai said teasingly. She smiled sadly.

Later that night, Sakura sat in her room, looking at the picture of team 7. It didn't even exist anymore. It was just a shadow of what had once been. Sakura pushed away all the tears, and gazed out the window. A faint frown crossed her face. She thought she had seen the Uchiha crest on the roof across the street. For a moment, she hesitated. Then she grabbed her coat and raced to her roof, peering at the one across the street.

"Ah, so it is you, Sakura." The voice caused her to jump. 'Sasuke-kun?' She thought wildly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author: So, i've finally come up with a good plot for this, why Sasuke and his team are in Konoha and whatnot. There may be spoilers, if you aren't up to date on the manga. Just letting you know. Read and Review, as always. And I hate this new girl, the one in Team Snake, so I make her look like an idiot. XD **

**I promise i'll give you a longer chappie next time. Just bear with me for a little bit.**

"Sasuke," Sakura breathed. There was no doubting that it was him who stood behind her. She felt a sudden surge of rage and pain and whirled around. She was unarmed, but her fist was enough of a weapon. It flew towards the face she hadn't seen in over two years, and instead of connecting, like she had expected, her fist hit something extremely hard. She heard a series of sickening cracks and took a few steps backward, staring up at a sword she had seen somewhere before.

Holding her hand close to her body, she quickly realized she had broken four of her fingers, slamming them against the blade that had once belonged to Zabuza.

"Shall I kill her, Sasuke?" Her green eyes flickered to the man holding the blade. His pale hair hung to his jaw, and his teeth were eerily pointed. He pulled back the long blade and swung it forward so it rested on her shoulder, the sharp edge nicking her neck. Sakura stiffened, looking at Sasuke who stood emotionless before her. There were two other figures behind him. That made four in all.

"No. That would be pointless. We aren't here for her." Sasuke said flatly. The pale haired man withdrew the blade and returned it to his back. "Go to the meeting point. I'll be right there."

Suigetsu nodded, and motioned to the other two. They vanished within a moment, and Sakura stared at Sasuke. He had gotten taller, and had a katana across his back. Sakura felt tears of fury in her eyes, and, ignoring the pain in her hand, clenched her fist and slammed it into the ground, which exploded upward in a line that flew towards the younger Uchiha.

He moved to the side in a motion too quick for the eyes to follow, and was suddenly behind Sakura. "What kind of welcome is that?" He murmured into her ear. She twisted her hip and leaned forward, bringing her foot flying towards the side of his face. He caught her ankle and flung her off the roof. She hit a tree, hard, then fell bodily to the ground. With trembling limbs, she stood, staggering slightly as she saw Sasuke, standing a few feet away.

She took a few steps forward, dizzy, then broke into an insane sprint. A clumsy punch was thrown towards his face, but he caught it in his own fist, twisting her arm around behind her back and pressing a kunai to her throat.

"Just kill me then." Sakura spat, not even feeling the pain in her hand any more.

"You would throw your life away so easily?"

"I've been dead since you left." Sakura replied, voice barely above a whisper. There were tears streaming down her face. For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes. But then it was gone.

"Sakura?" Sai's voice. He was looking for her. "Where are you?"

Sasuke arched one eyebrow. "That's my replacement, eh?" He murmured. "I should kill both of you right now." He pushed the kunai harder into her neck, and a trickle of blood ran down her collarbone. She didn't even wince.

"Sakura?" Sai was very close now. "Hey, Sakura, there you are! What are you-?" She heard his footsteps stop as he realized what was going on. But he didn't raise the alarm, as she expected him to.

"Don't. Don't kill him." Sakura whispered. She stared up into Sasuke's face. For a moment, she feared he had lost all sense of morals. All sense of what she had loved. "Please,"

There was a long pause, then Sasuke lowered the kunai. "Hn." He turned away, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Sakura, are you all right?" Sai asked, coming up beside her.

Sakura didn't reply for a few moments. She was staring at the place Sasuke had vanished, and now stood, chin held high to prevent any more tears from falling. "I'm fine." She said flatly, turning her back on Sai and walking away.

"Wait, Sakura!" Sai called after her, but she didn't turn around and continued moving back down the street. There had to be a reason Sasuke was here in Konoha. He had been searching for Itachi, the last time she heard, and there was no reason for him to come back. Of course, she and several others had been searching for Itachi as well, but they hadn't had any more luck.

So what possible lead could there be in Konoha? Sakura's eyes widened. Each member of the Akatsuki was searching for their Jinchuuriki, and hadn't Itachi's been Naruto? If Sasuke took Naruto with him, then he'd have a way to lure Itachi out into the open.

"Naruto!" She whispered, and took off at a sprint, running towards Naruto's apartment.

---

"Come on then." Sasuke said calmly, arriving at the meeting point just outside the Hokage's mansion.

"Sasuke, you're back." Karin purred, clinging to his arm. The Uchiha was so used to it that he ignored her.

"Karin, give it up. Sasuke's yaoi anyway." Suigetsu snapped. Sasuke arched one eyebrow, looking at him, but said nothing. If it got the girl to quit being so irritating, that was fine with him.

"Shut up, no he's not." Karin glared fiercely at Suigetsu, who shrugged and folded his arms.

"Well he and I did some definitely yaoi stuff last night."

Karin snorted and turned away, letting go of Sasuke. As if nothing had happened, Suigetsu spoke again.

"Tell me again why we're here." Suigetsu said, leaning against Zabuza's blade with his chin on his hands. Juugo stood off to the side, arms folded, listening to the conversation halfheartedly.

"We couldn't find Itachi. He obviously knows we're searching and is hiding. We wait here, and he's sure to come after Naruto."

"Why Naruto?" Karin couldn't help herself.

"Because he's Sasuke's lover." Suigetsu retorted instantly. Karin fell silent for a while.

Sasuke motioned to the building behind him. "Naruto lives here. We'll set up watches."

"Why don't we just go capture him or something?" Suigetsu asked.

Sasuke threw him a sharp look. Suigetsu fell silent. "Nevermind." He muttered feebly.

Sasuke turned away and began to walk to the other side of the room. Suigetsu had killed the owners of this apartment a few minutes earlier, and they'd be able to stay there without any suspiscion. His original plan had indeed been to kidnap Naruto and fight Itachi outside Konoha. But he wanted to stay. Just a bit longer. He sat with his back against the wall, one arm draped over his knee. He wanted to see Sakura again.


	3. Chapter 3

Author: Okay so I changed my mind. I'm funny like that. I'm also craving a taco right now. Anywho. I'm picking this story up again, YAY. But the chapters might be shorter than usual, i'm so ridiculously out of practice it's not even funny.

"Sakura..." Sasuke stood leaning against a tree, watching the kunoichi spring through Konoha, presumably looking for Naruto. His eyes were blank, and his arms folded across his chest. One hand slid down to the handle of his katana as the pink haired girl drew nearer. But he didn't want to attack her. Or maybe he did. He wasn't really sure. The girl had certainly become a pain, in the later days. Right up until the moment he left Konoha. Then he had realized how much she really did love him. It really had been annoying. But it was also...nice. Nice to know that if he died, there would be someone who cared.

"Sasuke-kun!" The Uchiha let an exasperated sigh escape his lips. Stupid Karin. What had he been thinking...? Sure, this new team of his, this team Snake, reminded him of Konoha in a twisted way. But Karin was worse than Ino and Sakura combined. He turned to look at the girl as she trotted up to him, flinging her arms around his waist. Scowling, he peeled her away. "Why do you constantly fight it, Sasuke-kun?" Karin sang, swaying a little without relinquishing her grip.

"Because I don't like you. I need you for your talents, nothing more." The moment he spoke, Sasuke regretted the words.

"THANK YOU!" Karin beamed, squeezing Sasuke even tighter at what she had seen as a compliment. Sakura was out of sight now, and Sasuke had no more need to just stand there watching Konoha anymore.

"Don't touch me." Sasuke growled, shoving Karin away from him. "If I wanted to have sex with you I would have done it by now."

"But Sasuke!" God. The girl was persistant. Even as Sasuke walked back towards the camp, she darted around him, clinging to his chest. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You said you wanted to rebuild your clan, didn't you? You'll need a woman for that."

Sasuke shrugged slightly. "I've given up on that. Presuming the final battle with Itachi leaves me alive, i'll still be the only Uchiha alive. There's been too much damage done to rebuild the clan now." Which wasn't exactly true. But he didn't want to give the girl any more hope than she needed.

Karin started to whine, and, thoroughly frustrated, Sasuke shoved her back hard, stalking away. He would admit that he had changed since leaving Konoha, both in personality and otherwise. But he knew he was strong-probably strong enough to defeat Itachi. All he needed now was to find him.

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura skidded to a halt, seeing a flicker of blond hair inside, where else, Ichiraku. She moved forward, grasping his shoulder. "Sasuke-kun! He's...He's...I saw him last night!" 

Naruto's eyes widened, and he abandoned his ramen to turn and meet the girl's gaze. "You did? Where is he?!"

"I don't know, he left before I could stop him-!" Naruto had already sprang off his chair and started to run down the street, but Sakura caught his arm.

"No! I think he came back...I think he's after you! He's going to try to use you as bait to get Itachi to come out into the open!" Naruto was about to make a snappy retort, but saw the fire in Sakura's eyes and sighed a little. She was worried about him, then? It didn't matter.

"I promised i'd bring him back, Sakura! And I never go back on my word, you know that!" The blond shrugged away Sakura's arm, stomping away from her towards the forest.

"Naruto, please, don't!" Sakura shouted, the hint of desperation in her voice enough to make the Uzumaki hesitate. He looked back at the kunoichi over his shoulder. "He's not the same as he was, Naruto! He nearly killed me! If Sai hadn't been there, he probably would have!" Her fingers curled into fists, eyes squeezed shut as she spoke. Naruto looked away from her, his expression unreadable. "Please, Naruto. Don't go after him this time."

Naruto's shoulders sagged and his head dropped, gaze moving to the ground. "All right...But if he comes after me, Sakura-!"

"I know." Sakura opened her eyes again, emerald orbs boring into the back of Naruto's head.

* * *

"You're not focusing, Sakura!" Sai said sternly, watching her drop the fan for the umpteenth time that day.

"I am too focusing-!" But as Sakura bent to pick up the fan, she knew Sai was right. She could only think about Sasuke. Sighing, she lay the fans down on the table in her living room. "I think i'll just...do some practicing on my own."

Sai frowned a little. "I didn't mean to..."

Sakura shook her head to dismiss any apologies. "It's okay. I just kind of want to be alone right now."

Sai hesitated for a few seconds, watching the kunoichi with something like worry on his face. "All right..." He said finally, before turning away and leaving, closing the door quietly behind him.

Sakura sighed, flopping down onto her couch and staring up at the ceiling. Right now, beyond the walls of Konoha, Sasuke was there.


End file.
